Fire crews battled four fires at vacant buildings in the Sanford area early Thursday morning, and the state fire marshal is calling them all suspicious. There have been a total of six suspicious fires since Monday in the area.

LIVE IN ORANGE COUNTY, MICHELLE MEREDITH, WESH 2 NEWS. INVESTIGATORS SCRAMBLING FOR ANSWERS AND PROMISING TO PROSECUTE WHOEVER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HALF A DOZEN SUSPICIOUS FIRES. TWO BROKE OUT ON MONDAY THEN FOUR MORE TODAY. THEY ALL HAPPENED IN SANFORD OR NEAR SANFORD IN SEMINOLE COUNTY. WESH 2'S DAVE MCDANIEL IS LIVE AT THE SITE OF THE FIRST FIRE THIS MORNING. THIS GUTTED A LOCAL LANDMARK. WELL IT DID, JIM. YOU KNOW, HEAVY EQUIPMENT ROLLED IN THIS AFTERNOON AT THE REQUEST OF SANFORD PUBLIC WORKS. BASICALLY WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT IS WHAT'S LEFT OF SANFORD'S HISTORIC LITTLE RED SCHOOL HOUSE. THEY SAID IT WAS DAMAGED TOO BADLY BY THOSE FLAMES. IT COULD NOT BE SAVED. FEAR THAT SOMEONE MIGHT GET INTO THE UNSTABLE STRUCTURE MEANT THE BURNOUT SHELL OF THE LITTLE RED SCHOOL HOUSE HAD TO COME DOWN. IT IS A TREMENDOUS LOSS FOR THE CITY. THIS WAS A ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOR MANY SANFORD RESIDENTS. EARLY IN THE MORNING FIREFIGHTERS WERE CALLED TO THE SCHOOL DATING BACK TO THE 1880s. IT WAS THE FIRST OF FOUR SUSPICIOUS FIRES IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS. A HOME ON MAPLE AND 20TH STREET. AN ENORMOUS BLAZE AT THE HOME IN THE 3900 BLOCK OF RONALD REAGAN NEAR THE CENTRAL FLORIDA GREENWAY. THEN A HOME IN THE 4800 BLOCK OF HESTER. THESE FOUR ON TOP OF TWO SUSPICIOUS FIRES EARLY MONDAY MORNING. THOSE TWO WITHIN A COUPLE OF BLOCKS OF A SCHOOL HOUSE. THE ARSON SIGN ON THE SCHOOL HOUSE SITE STIRRED STRONG EMOTIONS. TO THINK THAT SOME INDIVIDUAL WOULD BE SO HEARTLESS AS TO DO THAT IS VERY SAD. IT HURTS. IT REALLY DOES. MAKES ME WANT TO CRY. SANFORD'S POLICE CHIEF SAYS HE WILL BEEP UP PATROLS -- BEEF UP PATROLS AND HE SUGGESTS. AT SOME POINT YOU ARE GOING TO BE CAUGHT AND WE'RE GOING TO PROSECUTE YOU. SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED. THE FIRE MARSHAL SAYS ALL SIX FIRES AT THE VACANT HOMES ARE SUSPICIOUS BUT CANNOT SAY OFFICIALLY IF THEY'RE CONNECTED. WITHIN THE LAST FEW MINUTES WE DID GET A CALL FROM THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE IN TALLAHASSEE AND ACCORDING TO A SPOKESWOMAN THEY ARE NOW CONNECTING THE THREE FIRES IN DOWNTOWN SANFORD INCLUDING THE SCHOOL HOUSE FIRE AS WELL AS THE TWO FROM MONDAY THAT ARE A COUPLE BLOCKS UP THE STREET ON PALMETTO AND SANFORD AVENUE. THEY ARE SAYING THEY DO BELIEVE THERE IS A CONNECTION BETWEEN THOSE THREE FIRES. AS FOR THE OTHER THREE THIS MORNING, THEY'RE CALLING THOSE FIRES SUSPICIOUS. AGAIN, THEY'RE ASKING ANYONE IN THE GENERAL PUBLIC, IF YOU SEE ANYTHING SUSPICIOUS LET INVESTIGATORS KNOW. THEY'RE WORKING TO CATCH WHOEVER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THIS.